Let us be rid of it.

The weeks of agony are over. I have finished both the crochet class I was teaching and my first-ever garment.

First, I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself. I re-wrote that pattern 3 times, actually gauge-swatched for the first time, and made something that will cover a child's arms and torso without having to resort to clever-but-awkward pinning methods. Plus I taught a good class... all the students understood the basics of very basic garment construction, and they all left on Tuesday night with at least a half-sewn-up sweater. Rock!

But. But oh my gawd I hated this whole project, kind of. It is now 4 months until my wedding and I am feeling the breath of the hellbeast of Forgetting To Do Something Crucial on my neck; during the class time I felt like I was getting robbed of precious planning/decision-making time because I had to crochet the damn sweater pieces and re-write the pattern 3 times.

It was not pretty. And the yarn kept fuzzing out and laughing at me. Bastard yarn.

Ah well. It's finished (except weaving ends), it's a birthday sweater for baby Maggie (so I can cross that off my list), and I don't have to look at it again until December (which is why the ends aren't woven in).

Project: Baby Sweater [except it's more like a jacket]
From: Lion Brand [annoyingly poorly written pattern - therefore no link]
Size: 12 months [this is highly suspect--it's huge]
Yarn: Lion Brand Velvetspun [lovely finish, but nasty habit of leaving bits of fuzz everywhere]
Meduim: Crochet


Now I can spend my time working on the three wedding-season projects I have stupidly assigned myself in a fit of martha-esque "I Can Do It All Myself!" Which sounds vaguely naughty.

I'm working on Tempting from Knitty, using Malabrigo in the Tiger Lily colorway (I needed three skeins/hanks/skanks of it and Wool&Co. had only three left and I got them! and it was awsome, I tell you!!). I haven't talked about it here because I am Sneaky McStealthypants and, well, I have fallen into the black hole of knitting where it seems no progress is made. I need 14 inches of k2 p2 rib, and I have only 8, and my goal seems ever farther.


The last picture has the most accurate color. It reminds me of orange sherbert (or sherbet or sorbet or whatever you call it. I was raised in the Midwest where it was sherbert.). I love it. I haven't picked out a ribbon for the neckline yet, but it might be a very pale green. And Oh My God I never thought I would make myself a sweater out of Malabrigo (affordability-wise) but here it is. Sigh of contentment.

I'm also hoping to make Picovoli in time for one of my four bridal showers (Shut up. I can hear the laughter.), and make it out of the KnitPicks Shine, shown here with Ziggy for your viewing pleasure.

It's the "orchid" color and in reality it has just a bit more purple to it. The blue kind of purple.

And of course, I have the wedding shawl. No, I have not yet cast on for my first lace project ever (Seriously, stop laughing.), but I have swatched (look! I swatched again! I'm a swatching fool!), and I plan to get at least one pattern repeat in today, as it is my day off work and I have nothing more pressing to do than the dishes and knitting and bra shopping.

(Quick aside: I don't remember the last time I bought a bra, but I need one for the Wedding Dress. So I'm driving up to Rockford to meet my mom this afternoon to buy me a fancy long-line pushup bra--there's a story behind this, and I'll tell you tomorrow--and probably some fancy panties that won't show under the skirt. Or I could just go commando to my wedding. Hmm..)

And holy crap, kiddies, it's a freaking gorgeous day here in central Northern Illinois. I took pictures from the building's shared balcony, but they really don't do it justice. It's sunny, it's warm (finally!), there's a nice breeze blowing through my apartment, and I am in the best mood since ... probably last summer.

Brilliant!